In a tone of voice workshop I ran several years ago, I tasked the group with using the tone of voice of different celebrities. The funniest one by far was the press release written in the personality of Jamie Oliver. He has such a distinctive way with words, everything’s “pukka”, “rockin”, “outrageous” or “new stylee” in Jamie’s world....

Before I started copywriting, I believed in the myth of the starving artist writer. I thought you had to wait in agony for an idea to peak, like a surfer waiting for a wave on a glassy sea. When that rare crest of inspiration came your way, then you must ride it for dear life, lest it be your last!

“Once we know something, we find it hard to imagine what it was like not to know it. Our knowledge has “cursed” us. And it becomes difficult for us to share our knowledge with others, because we can’t readily re-create our listeners’ state of mind.”- Chip & Dan Heath, Made to Stick.

Whether it’s making your own raw chocolate or watching Orange is The New Black, have you ever noticed how you can enthuse to your family about something until you’re blue in the face but they won’t give it a go until they hear someone else - preferably a stranger - say how amazing it is?